He said he plans to make his decision before the end of November. We won't know for sure what Stidham is doing at that point, and even Stidham may/probably won't know. Gus could sell him a lie/feed him what he wants to hear that it's likely, but if he knows Stidham is undecided I don't think that will work on KB. Stidham hasn't had the best year. One of his biggest things he likes CCM so much about was that he was honest with him during recruitment that he may leave Clemson to be a HC. With only one year, trust is a big factor with him, as he has said repeatedly.

Wasn't Mahomes on our radar one time for some reason? baseball or something else, father liked us or something?

His dad signed to play basketball for Arkansas before turning pro in baseball. Even after his spectacular junior season at Whitehouse High School Mahomes didn't have any Power 5 offers. He could have been had with an offer, but Fat Boy was on "better quarterbacks" like Rafe Peavey.

It's part of the stupidity of recruiting. Coaching staffs so often decide who they are going to pursue when kids are...kids...and ignore performance. How can a QB in the second largest classification in Texas, whose dad committed to Arkansas, throw for close to 4,000 yards and 46 TDs as a junior... and with video that demonstrates that incredible arm strength and athleticism...be passed over for a smallish QB from a tiny school in Missouri?

Expect the guys who came up with the money for Papa Newton's church to come through and buy Gus another year on the Plains with a very generous offer to Bryant. I've had a feeling from the moment he announced he was gonna transfer he would end up at Auburn. Hope I'm wrong but it would be just our luck.

Expect the guys who came up with the money for Papa Newton's church to come through and buy Gus another year on the Plains with a very generous offer to Bryant. I've had a feeling from the moment he announced he was gonna transfer he would end up at Auburn. Hope I'm wrong but it would be just our luck.

My opinion is that next will be better for all QBs on campus and for the STUD recruit we have coming in. KB would just give us larger leap, but only for one year.

either way, we are OK.

It's VERY RARE that a Fr. QB can come in an lead a team in the SEC. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but for Arkansas to a kid on campus who can do that, would be even more rare.

We've had QB's come that were all everything, but they still struggle mightily in their first year. Mustain was probably the closest we've had to someone who could run the offense, but let's face it...it wasn't exactly Air Coryell in those years either.

I know we need a QB that's a more viable threat to run that who we have on campus currently. But...you can't expect a Fr. to come in and win games just because he's fleet of foot, and I feel like that's what our fans expect. Running QB's are great, but they aren't the answer to everything...exhibit A is Mond at TAMU. Great talent as a runner...but it takes more than just that.

If Kelly Bryant does come....different story. Proven winner, good passer, above average runner, and seasoned. He offers a different level of immediate impact, if he can stay healthy and we have anyone who can block for him, and anyone who can get open and catch the ball.

Agree completely with this. I know people think KJ will step on campus and be the answer to all that ails us, but I don't buy that. We've had STUD players come in, and fizzle worse than a two year old firework, MANY times over. Not saying he will...but I also don't buy that he'll step right in and be able to command the offense.

I am not that excited about him coming. He is a one year rental on a team that is still going to be in rebuild mode, with a ton of fr trying to learn the system ( wr's ) and a lot of youth on D. I'd be more excited if we could land 2 quality ol grad transfers.

Objectively speaking we are not the ideal situation for him to come in and be successful. Replacing 3 OL's and a key defensive pieces on an already struggling team is not the spot for a one and done to come in and take the reigns. If he lands at the UofA Morris will have done one hell of a sales job.

His dad signed to play basketball for Arkansas before turning pro in baseball. Even after his spectacular junior season at Whitehouse High School Mahomes didn't have any Power 5 offers. He could have been had with an offer, but Fat Boy was on "better quarterbacks" like Rafe Peavey.

It's part of the stupidity of recruiting. Coaching staffs so often decide who they are going to pursue when kids are...kids...and ignore performance. How can a QB in the second largest classification in Texas, whose dad committed to Arkansas, throw for close to 4,000 yards and 46 TDs as a junior... and with video that demonstrates that incredible arm strength and athleticism...be passed over for a smallish QB from a tiny school in Missouri?

"Because we were already recruiting him"? By all means, never adapt.

I remember you campaigning for Mahomes during his recruitment. Good call.

It's VERY RARE that a Fr. QB can come in an lead a team in the SEC. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but for Arkansas to a kid on campus who can do that, would be even more rare.

Right. As I think about next year, unfortunately, all the realities (like a freshman QB possibility) are keeping my expectations in check. Which is kinda too bad...I'd rather just be stupid and overly optimistic.

But this is exactly how I look at it. I'm excited about KJ coming, but I can't imagine us getting the 1-in-a-thousand miracle freshman. And it does happen to other teams occasionally. But even the big-time ones like Jameis Winston and Johnny Manziel were redshirt freshman. Same for Bernie Kosar when Miami won their first national championship. I remember thinking at the time how utterly crazy that was, winning with a freshman qb.

So, the discussion turns back to Bryant, or Storey with a year of seasoning.

His dad signed to play basketball for Arkansas before turning pro in baseball. Even after his spectacular junior season at Whitehouse High School Mahomes didn't have any Power 5 offers. He could have been had with an offer, but Fat Boy was on "better quarterbacks" like Rafe Peavey.

It's part of the stupidity of recruiting. Coaching staffs so often decide who they are going to pursue when kids are...kids...and ignore performance. How can a QB in the second largest classification in Texas, whose dad committed to Arkansas, throw for close to 4,000 yards and 46 TDs as a junior... and with video that demonstrates that incredible arm strength and athleticism...be passed over for a smallish QB from a tiny school in Missouri?

"Because we were already recruiting him"? By all means, never adapt.

Yeah, it's all coming back to me now... you were on him.. dam what a miss..

Yeah, it's all coming back to me now... you were on him.. dam what a miss..

Don’t act like Arkansas was the only school that “missed” on the 3-star recruit Mahomes. What about Texas, aTm, & TCU? Not to mention other schools he had interest in, such as LSU & Okie State? None of those schools offered him. He had 3 offers, Tech, Houston, & Rice according to Rivals.Peavey, on the other hand was a 4-star who had 24 offers from schools such as Auburn, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Baylor, Iowa, Mizzou, GaTech, West Virginia, Arizona, UCLA, & USC.

He said he plans to make his decision before the end of November. We won't know for sure what Stidham is doing at that point, and even Stidham may/probably won't know. Gus could sell him a lie/feed him what he wants to hear that it's likely, but if he knows Stidham is undecided I don't think that will work on KB. Stidham hasn't had the best year. One of his biggest things he likes CCM so much about was that he was honest with him during recruitment that he may leave Clemson to be a HC. With only one year, trust is a big factor with him, as he has said repeatedly.

That ought to rule Gus out. Nobody in their right mind should trust that slimeball.

For those of you complaining that "oh, Kelly Bryant will be here just one year and it will not do us any good." I beg to differ. What Bryant would be doing is building a bridge for Arkansas Football to develop the young talent in the 2019 class. Especially on offense. To be around a leader who has talent, has won big before and above all is confident in his abilities would do wonders for the psyche of the offense. Especially the O line. Instead of having to maintain a block longer than what is normally asked of an O lineman in order to accommodate our current QB's deficiencies, ie, slow to read defences, slow to get the ball out of his hands, and just below average QB speed with no wiggle.

Kelly Bryant would win no more than 7 games at Arkansas but he would help us get to a bowl game AND above all teach the 2019 class what it's like to have confidence in one's own abilities. Again, Bryant would build a bridge for the future of Arkansas Razorback Football along with showing the NFL that he can take a team low on top shelf talent and turn them into winners. It's a win-win situation for the Hogs and Bryant. What worries me is the following. You know, I know and even 'yellow dog' in the movie "FUNNY FARM" knows that our current coach is going to have to run off some QB's to make way for his son who played two years backing up John Stephen Jones at Highland Park HS. CCM has a problem. What to do with John Stephen Jones. I can promise you he doesn't want Jerry mad at him yet he doesn't want his son to ride the pine. That's the bump in the road ahead for CCM because he gets a complete pass on this season. We all know this. It's going to be fun to see how things unfold the next year, 2020 or so on, as long as the "Good Lord is willing and the creeks don't rise.""

For those of you complaining that "oh, Kelly Bryant will be here just one year and it will not do us any good." I beg to differ. What Bryant would be doing is building a bridge for Arkansas Football to develop the young talent in the 2019 class. Especially on offense. To be around a leader who has talent, has won big before and above all is confident in his abilities would do wonders for the psyche of the offense. Especially the O line. Instead of having to maintain a block longer than what is normally asked of an O lineman in order to accommodate our current QB's deficiencies, ie, slow to read defences, slow to get the ball out of his hands, and just below average QB speed with no wiggle.

Kelly Bryant would win no more than 7 games at Arkansas but he would help us get to a bowl game AND above all teach the 2019 class what it's like to have confidence in one's own abilities. Again, Bryant would build a bridge for the future of Arkansas Razorback Football along with showing the NFL that he can take a team low on top shelf talent and turn them into winners. It's a win-win situation for the Hogs and Bryant. What worries me is the following. You know, I know and even 'yellow dog' in the movie "FUNNY FARM" knows that our current coach is going to have to run off some QB's to make way for his son who played two years backing up John Stephen Jones at Highland Park HS. CCM has a problem. What to do with John Stephen Jones. I can promise you he doesn't want Jerry mad at him yet he doesn't want his son to ride the pine. That's the bump in the road ahead for CCM because he gets a complete pass on this season. We all know this. It's going to be fun to see how things unfold the next year, 2020 or so on, as long as the "Good Lord is willing and the creeks don't rise.""

CCM has repeatdly said they're not changing their culture, and they'll see who is on board. I have a suspicion that he has known for some time that many of the most talented kids aren't playing hard for him for one reason or another.

If you're the HC, and you're facing that obstacle, ALL you can do is build for the future when you have gotten to the point that you've tried everything, and nothing has worked. He's done that through what is shaping up to be our highest ranked recruiting class in a long time. I didn't say "best," because only time will tell in that regard.

But...at some point, how many games do you really want to win as HC of THIS team, THIS year? How much WORSE does it look if you do manage to cobble together a team of kids who are playing their hardest, change your style to meet the players' skillsets, and win 6 games...only to turn around next year with a young team and win 3-4?

Do you see what I'm getting at? I'm not saying the coaches are throwing off and trying to lose games. But...in effect, by refusing to adapt to the current players' abilities, you're setting the bar at what you're able to win with trying to put a round plug in a square hole. That in and of itself...sort of takes care of making sure you don't achieve something that you can't duplicate the following year. I just wonder if any of that has played out in CCM's mind... and maybe he never had any intention of changing anything enough to try to win more games this season, because he knows his success will be measured by improvement?

CCM has repeatdly said they're not changing their culture, and they'll see who is on board. I have a suspicion that he has known for some time that many of the most talented kids aren't playing hard for him for one reason or another.

If you're the HC, and you're facing that obstacle, ALL you can do is build for the future when you have gotten to the point that you've tried everything, and nothing has worked. He's done that through what is shaping up to be our highest ranked recruiting class in a long time. I didn't say "best," because only time will tell in that regard.

But...at some point, how many games do you really want to win as HC of THIS team, THIS year? How much WORSE does it look if you do manage to cobble together a team of kids who are playing their hardest, change your style to meet the players' skillsets, and win 6 games...only to turn around next year with a young team and win 3-4?

Do you see what I'm getting at? I'm not saying the coaches are throwing off and trying to lose games. But...in effect, by refusing to adapt to the current players' abilities, you're setting the bar at what you're able to win with trying to put a round plug in a square hole. That in and of itself...sort of takes care of making sure you don't achieve something that you can't duplicate the following year. I just wonder if any of that has played out in CCM's mind... and maybe he never had any intention of changing anything enough to try to win more games this season, because he knows his success will be measured by improvement?

So, in order for your theory to be accurate, that means the coaches are ignoring something our players do well in order to concentrate for the future and build for their system. So, what is it that our players and QBs do well?

Bryant helps contribute to the culture Morris wishes to build. That contribution likely exceeds the win/loss growth he brings for one year.

Morris has a serious problem with decent talent sprinkled about that doesn't care or is unadaptable (and, yes, some of that is on the players). That is more critical than the absolute lack of talent at some positions - underperforming talent is always a greater cancer than overwhelmed talent.

Bryant brings a year of leadership that is 100% behind Morris, and has the talent to demand things that others cannot demand. He has experience as a winner and will be relied upon to be the "will" from the locker room that prevents those late, inexplicable, losses we have grown accustomed to experiencing.

===

One of CBB's biggest problems is that he had to play players a year too early. They didn't necessarily play a lot (wasted a year; the 4-game redshirt rule helps with that to an extent), they didn't necessarily play at a high level, and they missed a year of development. A 4th-year junior is always superior to a true frosh unless the rookie is a high-impact player. Skipper and Kirkland in year one. Ragnow after that. It became a cycle that we are stlll paying for, and will for another year or two.

So, in order for your theory to be accurate, that means the coaches are ignoring something our players do well in order to concentrate for the future and build for their system. So, what is it that our players and QBs do well?

Not necessarily saying it's the offense. It could be the defense as well. We don't do anything well on defense. It wouldn't be that long of a stretch to suggest this team might do better playing "bend but don't break," play zone, and try to put guys in position to read and react. But...we're not playing that way. We're still sending blitzes, and asking guys to play on an island quite a bit.

But...I will say, it doesn't explain how we can't tackle very well.

Offense wise...I don't think the RPO has helped us at all. No one sees us as having a viable threat for the QB to take off, and that's a personnel issue. We would do better to ditch the RPO, and play more of a shotgun based modified run and shoot. No way he's going to do that.

I'm not saying he's tanking. I am saying...we could probably be more competitive if he adjusted to our current players, and he's not going to do that, and he's made that clear. He has a system...and he's going to get the players to run it. What scares me a little...is that is precisely what CBB said when he got here. He was CONVINCED he would win with it. Welp....

they are doing exactly like Nolan did when he came in. he played a totally different style than Sutton. but he had those guys playing his system. it was ugly, asking guys to play a way they cannot play. but establishing the program.

Bryant helps contribute to the culture Morris wishes to build. That contribution likely exceeds the win/loss growth he brings for one year.

Morris has a serious problem with decent talent sprinkled about that doesn't care or is unadaptable (and, yes, some of that is on the players). That is more critical than the absolute lack of talent at some positions - underperforming talent is always a greater cancer than overwhelmed talent.

Bryant brings a year of leadership that is 100% behind Morris, and has the talent to demand things that others cannot demand. He has experience as a winner and will be relied upon to be the "will" from the locker room that prevents those late, inexplicable, losses we have grown accustomed to experiencing.

===

One of CBB's biggest problems is that he had to play players a year too early. They didn't necessarily play a lot (wasted a year; the 4-game redshirt rule helps with that to an extent), they didn't necessarily play at a high level, and they missed a year of development. A 4th-year junior is always superior to a true frosh unless the rookie is a high-impact player. Skipper and Kirkland in year one. Ragnow after that. It became a cycle that we are stlll paying for, and will for another year or two.

I think KB will accelerate the rebuld by 3 years while he is here for only 1. The talent that is not buying in and the lack of talent is sad. It really blows my mind how far BB let this slip.

they are doing exactly like Nolan did when he came in. he played a totally different style than Sutton. but he had those guys playing his system. it was ugly, asking guys to play a way they cannot play. but establishing the program.

hopefully, in a couple of years, the hogs reap the benefits.

Exactly. I hope we see the same level of success we did during Nolan's hey-day. I'll be over here...not holding my breath.

For one, it seems every team is running the RPO now. You better be able to get not just one, but two QB's that are dual threat, because if you're running it right, they're going to get hit pretty often.

As more people run it, more defenses practice defending it, and eventually the next flavor of the month rolls in. You know what always works? A great offensive line.

Just got a text from a buddy of mine that lives in MS and is a MSU fan that said KB is going to Starkvegas next weekend when we play MSU for a visit with them. Haven't found a link to support that yet so it may just be a rumor.

Just got a text from a buddy of mine that lives in MS and is a MSU fan that said KB is going to Starkvegas next weekend when we play MSU for a visit with them. Haven't found a link to support that yet so it may just be a rumor.

Just got a text from a buddy of mine that lives in MS and is a MSU fan that said KB is going to Starkvegas next weekend when we play MSU for a visit with them. Haven't found a link to support that yet so it may just be a rumor.

There is no doubt about it. If you take the Hog colored glasses off...then ask yourself why would he come here? More question marks with the o'line...sophomore slump for Morris (more film out there). Miami is reaching out to him....he has an official set for Mississippi State. Those programs are winning. I just don't think KB gets drafted if he goes 4-8 next year. I don't think he will take that chance.

There is no doubt about it. If you take the Hog colored glasses off...then ask yourself why would he come here? More question marks with the o'line...sophomore slump for Morris (more film out there). Miami is reaching out to him....he has an official set for Mississippi State. Those programs are winning. I just don't think KB gets drafted if he goes 4-8 next year. I don't think he will take that chance.

Patrick Mahomes went 5-7 his last year and went in the 1st round. NFL doesn't care about record in college. In one of those losses Tech managed just 10 points against an ISU team that went 3-9 that year. Another one 17 pts against WVA a team not known for a smothering defense.

Jared Goff's overall college W/L record was 14-23, and he went in the first round.

None of this is to say KB is a first round talent but it shows that the NFL values individual potential more than won loss record.

At this point KB should probably look at who can showcase my talents more over where am I going to win the most. I think CM's role in developing Watson may help Arkansas along with the previous relationship from recruiting. If I was going to worry about any school landing him it would be Florida because Mullen does wonders with QBs and maximizing their potential.

Patrick Mahomes went 5-7 his last year and went in the 1st round. NFL doesn't care about record in college. In one of those losses Tech managed just 10 points against an ISU team that went 3-9 that year. Another one 17 pts against WVA a team not known for a smothering defense.

Jared Goff's overall college W/L record was 14-23, and he went in the first round.

None of this is to say KB is a first round talent but it shows that the NFL values individual potential more than won loss record.

At this point KB should probably look at who can showcase my talents more over where am I going to win the most. I think CM's role in developing Watson may help Arkansas along with the previous relationship from recruiting. If I was going to worry about any school landing him it would be Florida because Mullen does wonders with QBs and maximizing their potential.

Would be surprised if he goes to FLA. The have a stud QB that will redshirt this year in Emory Jones. He's the future. KB doesn't want the drama of having to beat out someone, for better or worse. At Arkansas, he would just have to beat out Story which would not be that difficult.